Abstract:
Evaluation of the performance of irrigation schemes helps to know the present status of the
scheme and to apply possible measures for improvement. This study was initiated to evaluate the
performance of the Enfranz irrigation scheme using internal and external performance indices
such as conveyance efficiency, application efficiency, water delivery performance, maintenance
indicators, and assessment of institutional and support services, so as to recommend appropriate
measures to improve the scheme's management and performance. To undertake this study,
primary data like discharge measurements in the canals, measurement of the depth of water
applied to the farmers‘ field, field observations, interviewing beneficiary farmers, and
determination of moisture contents of the soil before and after irrigation, and secondary data
were collected from secondary sources. The results obtained showed that the conveyance
efficiency of the main canal, secondary canal 1 and secondary canal 2 was 95.53%, 80.36 % and
82.55% respectively. The efficiency was in the acceptable range when compared to standards.
The Application efficiency result on three farmers‘ farms located at the head, middle, and tail of
the command were 46.22 %, 48.836.85 %, and 35.88 % respectively. These values were found
below the recommended value (60%). The water delivery performance was only 34 percent,
showing a very substantial reduction from the design of the canal capacity. The result of output
per unit command area, output per unit irrigated area, output per unit water supply and output per
unit water consumed were 24,897.43 US$, 12,991.54 US$, 1.02 and 0.97, respectively. Primary
and secondary data were collected and the data was analyzed in a descriptive and analytical way.
Water control and drop structures were heavily damaged or intentionally avoided. The
sustainability of the scheme is also in doubt in that currently it is irrigating only 76 percent of the
developed land. All these show that the scheme is performing below the intended level. The
services rendered by WUA and other relevant institutions in terms of managing the scheme and
supporting beneficiaries were very poor. In conclusion, the overall performance of the scheme is
rated as very poor. Therefore, proper institutional setup, scheme monitoring, and upgrading
needs to be in place and WUA should be empowered in order for it to discharge its responsibility
farms.
Key words: Performance indicators Application Efficiency, Conveyance Efficiency, Storage
efficiency, Maintenance Indicator